Method and apparatus for manufacturing a shell-shaped package, and such shell-shaped package

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of manufacturing shell-shaped packages, in particular flower sleeves, in which two superposed bands of synthetic material are supplied and machined through die cutting, in such a manner that at least one edge of each package, defining the wide opening, is formed along an ornamental line (6), whereafter the material bands are cut in transverse direction (11,12) into separate package portions (10), the discrete package portions being joined together at the cut edges (11,12) so as to form the package, wherein, during the die cutting of the longitudinal edges of the material bands, both material bands are perforated through and through in one die cutting operation so as to form suspension portions (15) joined to the package portions via perforated lines (6) extending along an ornamental contour, the suspension portion formed by the perforation, of one of the two material bands being removed. The invention further relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method, and to the package obtained by the method.

Description: This invention relates to a method as set forth in the preamble of claim 1. Such a method is disclosed in European patent specification 0 369 549. The drawback of the prior art method is that the material bands, before the longitudinal edges thereof are machined, must be separated by means of a separating element, such as for instance a plate or board, in connection with the fact that the edges of the packages that define the wide opening are to be machined in different manners so as to obtain a package that is simple to open. Another disadvantage of the prior art method is that two pairs of cutting dies are necessary to machine the material bands, viz. one pair on one side of the separating element and one pair on the other side of the separating element. Such cutting dies are subject to wear, so that they must be replaced regularly, which is particularly costly. One object of the present invention is to provide a simple and hence economically practicable method of manufacturing shell-shaped packages tapering from a wide opening, these packages, at the wide opening thereof, being provided with edges following an ornamental contour and these wide opening edges being readily openable. To that end, the method of the present invention is characterized by the features set forth in the characterizing clause of claim 1. The method of the present invention provides the advantage that half the required number of punches or perforators suffice and that, moreover, the separation of the material bands during the manufacture of the shell-shaped packages can be omitted. In spite of the fact that the present method can be practiced with simpler means, and hence at considerably lower cost, the package obtained yet has the advantage that it can be readily opened by the user, just like the package disclosed in European patent specification 0 369 549. The present invention is based on the insight that for the package to be easy to open, it is not required that the opening edge of one package portion project relative to the opening edge of the other package portion; that, however, for the package to be easy to open, it is sufficient for the package portions to project relative to each other at the opening edges, which themselves may be in alignment. Such is the case in the package obtained by the method of the invention by virtue of the feature that the suspension portion of one package portion of the shell-shaped package is removed. Although the wide opening edges of the package obtained by the method of the invention are in alignment, the edges of the package portions do project relative to each other at the opening edges, so that the package can be readily opened. The present invention further relates to an apparatus as set forth in the preamble of claim 5. Such an apparatus is disclosed in European patent specification 0 369 549. The prior art apparatus comprises a separating element and four cutting and/or perforating dies, viz. one pair on each surface side of the plate-shaped separating element. The prior art apparatus is very costly owing to the presence of the separating plate, the two pairs of cutting dies and the two displacement mechanisms associated with the cutting dies. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus without the above-mentioned drawbacks, which enables the manufacture of shell-shaped packages that exhibit the same good properties as do the packages disclosed in European patent specification 0 369 549. To realize this object, the apparatus is characterized, according to the invention, by the features set forth in the characterizing clause of claim 5. Because the apparatus comprises only one pair of cutting dies which are adapted for perforating both material bands in a single machining operation, the use of the separating plate can be omitted and moreover only one displacement mechanism is required for moving the cutting dies up and down. Accordingly, the present apparatus is much less costly than the prior art apparatus and moreover the use of the apparatus is significantly cheaper since only one pair of cutting dies are subject to wear, so that whenever replacement is necessary only one pair of cutting dies needs to be replaced. The present invention further relates to a package as set forth in the preamble of claim 12. This package, too, is disclosed in European patent specification 0 369 549. The drawback of the prior art package resides in the fact that it can only be manufactured with much effort because one wide opening edge of the package projects relative to the other wide opening edge. In the prior art package, one of the package portions comprises a suspension portion which is connected to the relevant package portion via a perforated line. It has been found that a package that is characterized by the features set forth in the characterizing clause of claim 12 can also be opened in very simple manner. Moreover, such a package exhibits the advantage that it can be manufactured in a simpler and hence cheaper manner. Further elaborations of the method, apparatus and package according to the present invention are described in subclaims and will be further clarified on the basis of some exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows a top plan view of the material bands and, in succession, the different operations these bands undergo in the method of the present invention; Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of an exemplary embodiment of the apparatus by means of which the different method steps can be carried out; Fig. 3 shows a sectional view taken on line III-III of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 shows a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a shell-shaped package, such as for instance a flower sleeve, according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows a top plan view of the material bands, indicating the different machining operations. In a single machining operation, using one pair of perforating dies 2, 3, capable of being moved up and down, the superposed material bands 1, at the two longitudinal edges 4, 5 thereof, are both provided pairwise with perforated lines 6, 7 following an ornamental contour. Then the material bands 1 are separated into separate package portions by means of heated cutting dies 8, 9 extending substantially transversely to the longitudinal direction of the material bands 1. The superposed package portions 1, 1a originating from two material bands 1, 1a are thereupon interconnected at the cut edges 11, 12 as formed by the heated cutting dies. Thus, a package 13 is obtained, tapering from a wide opening edge 6 or 7, formed by the perforated line, to a narrow end 14. Connected to the package portions 10, 10a via the perforated lines 6 or 7 are suspension portions 15, by which the package can be suspended in simple manner. As the perforated lines 6 or 7 of the package portions 10, 10a are in alignment since they were formed simultaneously by the same perforating die 2 or 3, the above-described package, comprising two suspension portions 15, would not be readily openable. In order to remove this problem, one of the suspension portions 15 is removed from the package. In Figs. 1 and 2 such removal takes place at the time when a package is being added to a stack 16 to be formed from the packages, this stack being formed between aligning means 17. It is, of course, also possible for the removal of one of the suspension portions 15 to take place after the provision of the perforated lines 6, 7 and before the material bands 1, 1a are die cut into discrete package portions 10, 10a. In an advantageous embodiment, the perforating dies 2, 3, which can optionally be heated to facilitate the machining of material that is hard to process, further comprise additional cutting or perforating portions (not shown) for forming cut or perforated lines 18, 19. The cut or perforated lines 18, 19 form a tear initiating zone for removing suspension portion 15. The cut or perforated lines 18, 19, serving as tear initiating zones, preferably extend in the direction of the free edges of the suspension portion 15. Owing to the presence of the tear initiating zone, the removal of the suspension portion 15 to be removed can be effected through tearing. The removal of the suspension portion 15 can for instance be effected by hand. However, it is preferred that the apparatus for manufacturing the package be provided with special means for this purpose. Fig. 3 shows a possible embodiment of such means, wherein rotary friction rollers 20 engage the suspension portion 15 to be removed and pull the suspension portion 15 off the remaining package portion 10 in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the material bands. The suspension portion 15a connected with the other package portion 10a must remain attached and for that purpose abuts a stationary friction element 21, such as, for instance, a plate or stationary rollers 21 with a high coefficient of friction. The package obtained by the method of the invention is shown in Fig. 4. The packages have been collected into a stack 16 and connected at the suspension portions 15, for instance through stapling or a weld obtained by piercing the suspension portions 15 with a hot welding pin (not shown). The apertures 22 have been formed by such a hot welding pin. Further, Fig. 3 clearly indicates that the opening edges, formed by the perforated lines 6 or 7 and following an ornamental contour, are in alignment. It is understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment described but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims: A method of manufacturing shell-shaped packages which taper from a wide opening to a narrow end, in which two superposed bands (1, 1a) of synthetic material of substantially the same width are simultaneously supplied and machined at both longitudinal edges (4, 5) of at least one material band (1, 1a) through die cutting, in such a manner that at least one edge (6, 7) of each package, defining the wide opening, is formed along an ornamental line extending substantially throughout the length of said wide opening edge, whereafter the superposed material bands (1, 1a) are cut in transverse direction into separate package portions (10, 10a), in such a manner that the wide opening edges (6, 7) of successive packages are located alternately at opposite longitudinal edges (4, 5) of the material bands (1, 1a), the separate package portions being connected to each other at the cut edges (11, 12) so as to form the package, characterized in that during the die cutting of the longitudinal edges (4, 5) of the material bands (1, 1a), both material bands (1, 1a) are perforated through and through in one die cutting operation applied to the material bands (1, 1a) from one material band surface side, so as to form suspension portions (15, 15a) connected with the package portions (10, 10a) through perforated lines extending along an ornamental contour, whilst the suspension portions (15), formed by the perforating operation, of one of the two superposed material bands (1) are removed. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the removal of the suspension portions (15) of one of the two superposed material bands (1) takes place before the material bands (1, 1a) are cut into separate package portions (10, 10a). A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the removal of the suspension portions (15) of one of the two superposed material bands (1, 1a) takes place after the material bands (1, 1a) have been cut into separate package portions (10, 10a) and connected to each other via the cut edges (11, 12) so as to form the package. A method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that during the die cutting operation for the formation of the suspension portions (15, 15a), in the same machining step further a cutting or perforated line (18, 19) is provided in the suspension portions (15, 15a) so as to form a tear initiating zone for removing the suspension portion (15) by tearing. An apparatus for manufacturing shell-shaped packages which taper from a wide opening to a narrow end, comprising means for the simultaneous supply of two superposed bands (1, 1a) from synthetic material, die cutting means with perforators (2, 3) to provide the longitudinal edges (4, 5) of at least one material band (1, 1a) with a perforated line (6, 7) extending along an ornamental line so as to form edges (6, 7) defining the wide opening; cutting and connecting means (8, 9) extending substantially in transverse direction over the material bands (1, 1a) for cutting package portions (10, 10a) from the material bands (1, 1a) and connecting these package portions (10, 10a) to form a package, characterized in that the die cutting means with perforators (2, 3) are arranged at only one surface side of the material bands (1, 1a) and are adapted for perforating both material bands (1, 1a) in one operation so as to form suspension portions (15, 15a) which are connected to the package portions via perforated lines, the apparatus further comprising means (20, 21) adapted for removing the suspension portions (15) disposed in one of the material bands (1). An apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the means (20, 21) which are adapted for removing said suspension portions (15) are arranged upstream of the cutting and connecting means (8, 9). An apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the means (20, 21) which are adapted for removing said suspension portions (15) are arranged downstream of the cutting and connecting means (8, 9). An apparatus according to any one of claims 5-7, characterized in that the means (20, 21) which are adapted for removing said suspension portions (15) are designed as rotary friction rollers (20) adapted for engaging the suspension portions (15) to be removed. An apparatus according to claim 8, characterized by retaining means (21) which are arranged at the surface of the material bands (1, 1a) to be machined that is remote from the friction rollers (20) and coact with the friction rollers (20), said retaining means (21) being adapted for retaining the suspension portions (15a) which are to remain attached to the relevant package portions (10a). An apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the retaining means (21) are designed as a friction element (21), such as a plate or roller with a high coefficient of friction. An apparatus according to any one of claims 5-10, characterized in that the die cutting means with perforators (2, 3) comprise, in addition to the perforating portions for providing a perforated line formed along an ornamental line, cutting or perforating portions for providing at least one tear initiating zone (18, 19) in the suspension portions (15, 15a) in one operation. A shell-shaped package manufactured from sheetlike package portions (10, 10a) which are interconnected at at least two edges (11, 12) and each have a wide opening edge (6 or 7) having a non-linear shape substantially throughout the length thereof, one of the wide opening edges (6 or 7) being connected, via a tear line (6 or 7) formed through perforation, with a suspension portion (15a) extending substantially throughout the width of the wide opening edge (6 or 7), characterized in that the non-linear wide opening edges (6 or 7) of the package portions (10, 10a) are located precisely above each other in the flat, non-developed position of the shell-shaped package.

Inventors: CHENG SHENG CHI, CHENG, SHENG CHI
Applicants: JEI LEE CORP, JEI LEE CORPORATION
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B31B25
IPC codes: B31B25, B26F3, B26D7